The Latest: Bryant says Miss. should defy federal guidance

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Latest on Mississippi officials’ response to federal guidance on transgender students (all times local):

4:23 p.m.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says the state should defy new federal guidance that says public schools should make sure transgender students can use locker rooms and bathrooms that match their gender identity.

Bryant on Friday originally criticized President Barack Obama’s administration, but the Republican stopped short of calling for state defiance.

After the Mississippi Department of Education issued a statement saying the state will follow the federal guidance, Bryant issued a new and more strongly worded statement.

In it, he said decisions about public school restrooms “are better left to the states, and not made at the point of a federal bayonet,” and that “Mississippi’s public schools should not participate in the president’s social experiment.”

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2:44 p.m.

The Mississippi Department of Education says it will follow new federal guidance on making sure transgender students can use locker rooms and bathrooms that match their gender identity.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves are both criticizing President Barack Obama’s administration over the issue - but neither is calling for schools to defy the federal government.

The U.S. departments of Education and Justice told states Friday that public schools must treat transgender students in a way that matches their identity, even if school records or identity documents list a different sex.

The Mississippi Department of Education says it will follow the guidance, and that a “safe and caring school environment” is important.

Bryant says schools’ restroom policies should not be shaped by “federal coercion.”